Char 2C – Part 5: Streaking and Pigments

Before I actually talk about the streaking and pigments, I have to mention one step I did and forgot to mention last time – highlights. As you may have noticed, the bolts are quite standing out and have contrast against the main body of the vehicle. I have drybrushed them with a mix of green and yellow oil paints to achieve this effect. I also applied the same techniques to edges and other raised surface structure, though it has to be done with care and the contrast with base colour should be kept reasonable, otherwise the effect will look ridiculous.

Streaking was primarily done with AK solution for streaking for green vehicles. This was brushed on with fine brush, let dry a bit and then spread vertically until the look was right. The advantage of AK product is that it dries quickly, so that unlike application of oils, you don’t need to wait the whole day or more to have the paint dry.

The pigments were applied along the lower edge of the sides and fixed with enamel thinner. I have then removed most of them with my fingers and rubbed the surface, so that some pigments were retained in the recessed areas, and the rest of the area of application is showing very gentle discolouration toward the earthly tone colours. I used two different mixes of pigments, each consisting of about 5 different pigment shades, mostly the same, but with different proportion to achieve different level of lightness. I never fuss too much about the exact proportion and just keep mixing until I like the shade.

Some of the pigments were also spread with brush in vertical direction to add to the streaking effect.